G.—B

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nicate with you from time to time, and call your attention to them before you separate. Let me, however, remind you that, though tho Queen is able without any assistance from you to protect the Maoris from all foreign enemies, she cannot, without their help, protect the Maoris from themselves. It is therefore the duty of all who would regret to see their race relapse into barbarism, and who desire to live in peace aud prosperity, to take heed that the councils of the foolish do not prevail, and that the whole country be not thrown into anarchy and confusion by the folly ofa few misguided men. Finally, I must congratulate you on the vast progress in civilization which your people have made under the protection of the Queeu. Cannibalism has been exchanged for Christianity. Slavery bas been abolished. War has become more rare ; prisoners taken in war are not slain. Euroriean habits are gradually replacing those of your ancestors, of which all Christians are necessarily ashamed. The old have reason to be thankful that their sunset is brighter than their dawn, and the young may be grateful that their life did not begin until the darkness of the heathen night had been dispelled by that light which is the glory of all civilized nations. Earnestly praying that God may grant His blessing on your deliberations, and guide you in the right path, I leave you to the free discussion of the subjects I have indicated, and of any others you may think likely to promote the welfare of your race. Thomas Gore Browne, Governor. Paul also read the Treaty of Waitangi, as follows :— Her Majesty, Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, regarding with her Eoyal favour the Native chiefs and the tribes of New Zealand, and anxious to protect their just rights and property, and to secure to them the enjoyment of peace and good order, has deemed it necessary, in consequence of the great number of Her Majesty's subjects who have already settled in New Zealand, and the rapid extension of emigration, both from Europe and Australia, which is still in progress, to constitute aud appoint a functionary, properly authorized, to treat with the aborigines of New Zealand for the recognition of Her Majesty's sovereign authority over the whole or any part of those Islands. Her Majesty, therefore, being desirous to establish a settled form of civil government, with a view to avert the evil consequences which must result from the absence of the necessary laws and institutions, alike to the Native population and to her subjects, has been graciously pleased to empower and authorize me, William Hobson, a Captain in Her Majesty's Eoyal Navy, Consul and LieutenantGeneral of such parts of New Zealand as may be, or hereafter shall be, ceded to Her Majesty, to invite the confederated and independent chiefs of New Zealand to concur in the following articles and conditions :— Article the First. —The chiefs of the confederation of the united tribes of New Zealand, and the separate and independent chiefs who have not become members of the confederation, cede to Her Majesty the Queen of England, absolutely, and without reservation, all the rights and powers of sovereignty which the said confederation or individual chiefs respectively exercise or possess, or may be supposed to exercise or to possess, over their respective territories, as the sole sovereign thereof. Article the Second. —Her Majesty the Queen of England confirms and guarantees to the chiefs and tribes of New Zealand and to the respective families and individuals thereof, the full, exclusive, and undisturbed possession of their lands and estates, forests, fisheries, and other properties which they may collectively or individually possess, so long as it is their wish and desire to retain the same in their possession ; but the chiefs of the united tribes and the individual chiefs yield to Her Majesty the exclusive right of pre-emption over such lands as the proprietors thereof may be disposed to alienate, at such prices as may be agreed upon between the respective proprietors and persons appointed by Her Majesty to treat with them in that behalf. Article the Third. —ln consideration thereof Her Majesty the Queen of England extends to the Natives of New Zealand her Eoyal protection, and imparts to them all the rights and privileges of British subjects. W. Hobson, Lieutenant-Governor. Now, therefore, we, the chiefs of the united tribes of New Zealand, being assembled in Congress at Victoria, in Waitangi, and we, the separate and independent chiefs of New Zealand, claiming authority over the tribes and territories which are specified after our respective names, having been made fully to understand the provisions of the foregoing treaty, accept and enter into the same in tho full spirit and meaning thereof, in witness of which wc have attached our signatures or marks at the places and the dates respectively specified. Done at Waitangi this sixth day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty. Paul then resumed his seat on the raised platform amidst applause. Address from the Hon. the Premier and the Hon. the Native Minister. Mr. Commissioner Kemp then read the following address from the Hon. the Premier and the Hon. the Native Minister, specially telegraphed and conveyed to Orakei by Sub-Inspector Purdy, A.C, accompanied by two troopers : — To Paul Tuhaere,—Friends, salutations to you, and to our tribe Ngatiwhatua, and the chiefs and people who are now assembled by your invitations at Orakei. This work of yours is good. It is well that the call to the tribes to discuss the affairs of the Island should come from Ngatiwhatua. Our tribe, Ngatiwhatua, has been an upholder of the law and a preserver of the peace since the first coming of the pakehas to the Island. It was our tribe, Ngatiwhatua, which led the first Governor and the first Europeans from Kororareka to the banks ofthe Waitemata. Afterwards, when evil came upon the land, and strife arose between the two races, though the words spoken at that meeting did not take root in Waikato, yet they flourished and bore fruit in many other parts of the Island. Therefore it is well that once more the tribes should meet at Kohimarama. Although the war in Waikato finished in 1564, yet the evils which it engendered did not disappear, and also a largo section of the Maori people went forth, as it were, into a desert, to dwell tbere with their faces averted from their European brethren. Your work, Paul Tuhaere, during these